Someplace New
by Carlin
Summary: Paul Harris' life as a X-Man. Eventual Scott Summers-Paul Harris slash. Rated R for language. Based off The Ultimate X-Men Comic. Please read and review!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I'm making no money from this story and I own none of the characters, except Paul Harris. Unfortunately, they live in a universe created by Stan Lee and owned by Marvel Comics. If you try to sue me for anything, just know that I'm a por college student with barely enough money afford juice. So, back off! But I digress, on to the story.  
  
Chapter One:  
  
A flash of color in his peripheral vision caused Paul to look up from his book. He was sitting by the window of a restaurant in Time Square. He caught a quick glimpse of his brown hair and brown eyes in the window before he focused on the street outside.  
  
His eyes were barely able to process the scene before him it unraveled so quickly. A man ,that looked about his age, ran through the street and by the restaurant Paul sat in. He was wearing a solid back uniform and some kind of visor over his eyes. The man looked over his shoulder as he ran, and to Paul's astonishment, a red beam of energy launched from the visor. Without breaking his stride he turned and started down the street again as he weaved in between the people scampering off.  
  
Only a few seconds later Paul saw what he was running from. "Oh shit." He murmured as the large purple and red robot came into view. Paul knew what that thing was and what it was doing in New York City.   
  
Paul jerked up from the table he had been sitting, almost knocking it over. Sparing only a second to hurriedly shove his book into his bag and take off towards the door. The people barely noticed his panicked shuffle for door as they stared at the sentinel stalking down Main Street.  
  
When he got onto the street he quickly headed for a subway tunnel figuring out of sight was safer than running down the street. Paul didn't know why, but he felt an overwhelming fear pushing at his mind. It was as if the fear wasn't his own, though. It was like the fear was pressing against his mind and trying to force it's way inside. Paul shook his head and tried to clear the feeling from his mind.  
  
The man in uniform was out of sight and Paul didn't see the sentinel anymore. He could definitely hear the sounds of the robot's weapons, though.   
  
Running across the street and through the parked cars, he took off towards the subway access. Jumping over the railing and landing softly on the stairs fifteen feet below him, Paul ran deeper into the tunnel. Leaping over the coin deposit and completely ignoring all the people around, he headed down the emergency ramp that ran down the tunnel.  
  
He barely got twenty feet when the wall on the tunnel began to shudder. He stopped in tracks with the first quake. The second almost knocked him off his feet and third one did. He landed on one of the metal tracks. Pain shot through his back as he rolled his body between the tracks. There was another quake, this one even more violent the other, and the cement wall of the tunnel exploded. Paul threw up one hand and his mind expanded outwards forming a small bubble over him, blocking all the debris from hitting him.   
  
Paul had known he was mutant for a while now. When he was thirteen he had been playing in the yard with his cousins. One of them ran out into the road and in front of a speeding car. He'd seen her only seconds before and completely reacting on instinct. Yelling her name, he threw out hand and she jerked back to him through the air. At the time he hadn't know that he was a mutant, but it didn't take long for him to put it together.  
  
As the air began to clear of dust Paul's eyes grew wide as he saw a sentinel floating above the hole in the tunnel wall. Paul willed his body to move as he saw the sentinel began to raise its hand, but he was frozen with terror. He could feel the fear all around him again, roaring into his mind with the force of a wild wind. He was paralyzed.  
  
Just as a yellow glow formed around the sentinel's hand Paul saw a red force collided with the sentinel's chest, knocking it to the side. A split second after that another beam slammed into its head. With the sentinel's head gone it's body fell backwards and onto the street.  
  
Moments later, Paul saw the head of a man sticking out from one side of the hole. "Are you all right?" It was the same guy that he'd seen earlier running by the window.  
  
It took Paul's mind a second to clear as he ran a hand through his short brown hair. The man asked him the same question again before he finally replied. "Yeah, I think so."  
  
"Can you get out of there?" He asked Paul. After standing and dusting off quite a bit of dust Paul looked up. It was quite a distance between himself and the street, but Paul thought he could make it.  
  
"I'll try." He replied and then bent to picked up his bag and threw it over his shoulder. Over the years Paul'd became fairly sure he was a telekinetic. The Internet had finally tipped Paul off to what he was. He didn't use his powers much, fearing if did he would be found out and he'd become one of those mutants people heard about on the news.  
  
Paul tried to clear his mind as best he could and began to lift himself off the ground. He'd never tried levitating, but in theory, he knew he could do it. He began to rise slowly at first and gradually gained speed. He landed softly on payment of the street and looked to his rescuer.  
  
His earlier glimpses of the man hadn't revealed much, but up close Paul realized how beautiful he actually was. His medium length brown hair brushed against his forehead, and the muscular jawbone made him look more like a statue than a man. The amount of muscle on him was astounding. It wasn't too much, but was exactly the right amount of muscle. And the uniform he wore did everything to punctuate every detail of his ripped build. Paul found the red glow that came from behind the visor he wore almost eerie. Paul watched as a single raindrop from the beginnings of a shower run down the man's cheek and dripped off his chin.  
  
"You sure you're not hurt?" He asked.  
  
Paul shook himself from his admiration and forced himself to answer. "Yeah, I'm all right. I was more freaked that anything. Oh, and, thanks by the way."  
  
"Your welcome, I need to get back to my team you should probably come with me. Those sentinels can detect your mutant gene and usually where there's one there's more. Come on, this way. And watch out for any FOH." He turned and ran deeper into Time Square.  
  
Paul stood still for a second going over his options. The guy was right, even if Paul didn't really want follow the guy into whatever he was going into. Paul didn't really want any of those sentinels on his tail. Paul pushed himself to catch up to his new friend and followed his lead when he ducked behind a parked car.   
  
"FOH?" The man took hurried looks around their surroundings, taking in everything. When Paul's question went unanswered he picked another approach.  
  
"Ah, my name's Paul by the by. What exactly are you doing here?" Paul asked between breaths.  
  
"I know. Call me Cyclops. My team and I are trying to stop the sentinels from killing anyone who might be in danger." He stuck his head over the top of the car looking out to the street again.   
  
"Your team?" Paul asked as he tried in vain to rub the pain from his back.  
  
"Yes, the X-Men. We're mutants trying to help those in need." He explained quickly and continued without a beat. "Marvel Girl, report."  
  
"Storm has managed to take down three more sentinels and Beast found Bobby a few minutes ago. Colossus and I are currently engaging the last two sentinels. Storm is moving into position to help us. Did you find him?" Paul heard the female's voice coming for Cyclops' comlink. His ears perked up with her last question.  
  
"Yeah, had to take down a sentinel to get to him, but I found him. We'll be back at the jet soon. Call me if you need assistance. Cyclops out."  
  
"You were lookin' for me?" Paul asked as confusion sat in.  
  
"Um, yeah. Professor Xavier detected you in the area and sent me after you. We still need to get out of here. People don't seem to like us very much." Cyclops pulled Paul up by the arm and started walking away. "The X-jet's these way."  
  
Paul followed Cyclops down the street and into an alley. The alley wasn't very wide and according to Cyclops the X-Jet was on the other side. Paul's boot landed in puddle of water left from the rain and Paul adjusted the shoulder strap of his bag. Drops of rain started to fall more frequently and he flipped up the collar of his coat to fight back the chill. It had been raining on a off for the last week and weather people said it would continue for a while.   
  
As they neared the middle of the alley Cyclops stopped suddenly and put a hand out signaling for Paul to stop as well. Seconds later, the first floor windows of the buildings on either side of the alley busted out. Within moments, the alley was filled men dressed in army type uniforms and they were pretty well armed. Paul stared in shock while Cyclops pushed Paul against the wall put himself in front of him.  
  
"If you do this, some of you are going to get hurt." Scott said firmly looking back and forth form the two groups that had formed on either side of the alley.  
  
Paul knew this was going to get bad and he was pretty sure that it would sooner rather than later. He was also pretty sure that a preemptive strike was more in his and Cyclops' favor. He wasn't positive how it would turn out if did use his powers against these guys, but he was willing to find. Swinging out both his hands in opposite directions Paul poured as much energy into his attack as best he knew how.   
  
Both groups went flying back and hit the cement. A few weapons went clattering to the ground. A few of the men started to get up and Cyclops moved to the group closet to the jet. One man was up on his hands and knees until he received a boot to the face from Cyclops.  
  
Close combat was something Paul knew. His dad had taken care to make sure both his children were able to defend themselves. The kids of a U.S. Air Force colonel weren't going to get beat up by any bully.  
  
  
  
Paul approached one of the guys that was now standing. Twisting on his right foot and he brought his left boot across the guys face. His opponent fell to ground and Paul connected his knee with another man's face.  
  
It had begun pouring rain now and Paul's dark jeans, tan sweater, and green 'Air Force' issue coat were soaked. Another one came charging at Paul and he put his fist across the man's jaw. Then he hit the man in the stomach. As the man fell to the ground Paul looked to where Cyclops was fighting at the other end of the alley.   
  
Cyclops hit one man in the face and then ducked under the punch of another. The click of metal brought Paul's attention back to his end of the alley. One of the men was standing and taking aim with his pistol. Paul pushed out his mind knocking the man off balance, but as he fell the man pulled the trigger of the gun. The sound of gunshot echoed in alley from a second and Paul also heard a muffled scream, but assumed it was from the man he'd just pushed down.  
  
With another thought he ripped the pistol from the man's hand. Paul's head was pounding from the use of his powers. Hearing the cocking of another pistol looked to Cyclops. The mutant was rolling of the cement cradling his shoulder. There was one of the men still on his feet and stood above Scott pointing his pistol down at him.   
  
Paul reacted frantically and grabbed the man him as much power as he could muster. The man's body twisted as the telekinetic wave hit him and his body slammed into the brick wall of a building. Paul flinched when he heard the sickening crust of bone when the man hit the wall.  
  
Paul stared at the man's still body for a second. Taking a quick glaze around the alley to make sure he wasn't in any immediate danger he shakingly walked over to the fallen body. He leaned down and his hand trembled as he reached for the man's neck. The color drained from Paul's skin and his face went pale when he realized the man was dead.  
  
Paul's heart stopped and his breath stilled. He'd killed someone. It had been in self-defense, but he had still taken someone's life. He felt like he was going to throw-up.  
  
A groan brought Paul's attention to Cyclops who was still lying on the ground. Paul slipped in the water from the still pouring rain as he tried to get up. When he finally got to Cyclops, he went to grab his shoulder, but Cyclops cried out in agony. Paul jerked his hand away. "What's wrong?" he asked, concern clear in his voice.   
  
"I don't know. I think I got shot." Cyclops answered between clenched teeth. Paul now knew whose scream he'd heard earlier. It was his fault Scott was shot.   
  
He turned his head when he heard shuffling on one end of the alley. Looking up, he saw one of the men scrambling to his feet. Paul glared at him contemptuously and the man wasn't stupid enough to try anything. Instead he ran off.  
  
Paul looked at the wound on Cyclops' shoulder and it did look like he'd been shot. "Come on, we gotta get you out of here." Paul helped Cyclops to his feet being sure to put Scott's good arm over his shoulder. Together they started down the alley again. When they hit the end of the alley was amazed at the sight he saw. There was large, sleek jet sitting in the street.  
  
As they got closer, the ramp of the jet open and two people walked down it. The redhead was the first to speak. "We were about to come find you. What happened?" she asked with a gasp when she saw Cyclops' bleeding shoulder.   
  
"Some guys attacked us in the alley." Paul told her and he really wasn't sure himself what had happened.  
  
"Some guys?" a very large black haired man asked him a Russian accent.  
  
"Guys in uniforms. They just attacked us, out of nowhere." Paul tried to explain best he could.  
  
"FOH." Cyclops wheezed out.  
  
"Where are they now?" she asked while she examined Cyclops' shoulder.  
  
"Most of them are lying back in the alley. One of them ran away." Paul took an uneasy breath. "One of them is dead." He told her meekly, avoiding looking her in the eyes.  
  
She could feel the sadness radiating off Paul and understood his regret herself. "What happened to your shoulder?" she asked Cyclops, but Paul spoke up before he could.  
  
"He was shot. Its my fault." He answered, the regret again, plain in his tone.  
  
"And how is that?" The redhead asked, doubting that Cyclops getting shot had anything to do with the newcomer.  
  
"Shouldn't we get out of here?" Cyclops asked weakly.  
  
"Yes. Colossus, help Cyclops onto the jet. Paul, let's get aboard. I'm Marvel Girl, by the way. " She said wrapping an arm around his shoulder and guiding him up the ramp.  
  
"Do you people have normal names?" Paul asked her.  
  
"Well, yes, but we use code-names in the field. My real name is Jean Grey. You can sit here." Paul sat down and let Jean strap him in. He was more than a little blown away at all that had happened in the last half hour. "Here, the Professor wants to speak with you. His face will come up on that monitor." Jean told him and handed him a commset. He stuck the small earpiece in and almost instantly heard a man's voice.  
  
"Mr. Paul Harris, its nice to speak with you." The bald man told him. "I know all this may come as a shock you to and I was hoping to approach you in a more civil manner. However, circumstances have proven that impossible."  
  
"Excuse me sir, but how do you know me? I've never met any of you, but y'all seem to know all about me. To be honesty, it's freakin' me out." Paul said sincerely.  
  
"That will all be explained soon. Just please relax a little and enjoy your ride. I will see you shortly." The Professor said and the monitor went blank.  
  
"Wow, that was informative." Paul said rather sarcastically and took the earpiece out. "I just love being abducted and being totally kept in the dark."  
  
"We didn't abduct you. Feel free to jump from the plane at anytime." Jean said with a smile as another dark headed guy lifted the jet into the air. He was pretty short and was even more muscular than Cyclops. There was a dark skinned, white haired woman sitting next him.  
  
There was also a kid that looked rather young sitting beside Jean as she cleaned and bandaged Cyclops shoulder. The kid looked as nervous as Paul felt as he hugged his knees to his stomach. On the other side of the jet, a girl laid across a bench. She was unconscious and her long brown hair almost hit the metal deck of the jet.  
  
"It would just be nice if someone would tell me what the hell is goin' on." Paul's Southern accent kicked in as he moved from confused to pissed off. "So, would anyone like to tell me why that in the last half-hour I've been chased by a mutant killing robot, shot at, fought a group of uniformed men, and been saved by a team of mutants?"   
  
"Well, we are a very organized team of mutants who saved you." Jean snapped back, but Paul interrupted her before she got started again.  
  
"No, y'all didn't save me." Paul circling his finger in the air to encompass the whole jet. "He saved me. Didn't see hide nor hair of you til we got to the jet. Organized my ass!" Paul said back firmly. No one else on the jet seemed to want to get involved the current conversation.  
  
"You know Paul, I think we're gonna get along just fine." Jean smiled sweetly at Paul and when Cyclops flinched under her touch her tone changed to stern caretaker. "Hold still!"  
  
"So where are we going?" Paul asked accepting the fact he probably wasn't getting any answers until they got where they were going.  
  
"Xavier's School for Gifted Students, and nice to meet you Paul. I'm Henry McCoy, but please call me Hank." The guy in the pilot's seat said.  
  
"Nice to meet you Hank. How long until we get there?" Paul asked from his seat.  
  
"We're coming up on the school now. We should be landing in next few minutes."  
  
"Hi, I'm Ororo. Ororo Munroe. Or Storm, which ever you prefer. Unless we're in the field. But anyway, are you from New York City?" The white hair girl asked.  
  
"Not originally, no. Just going to school there. I'm from North Carolina." There was a slight shudder through the plane as it set down. "And you are?" Paul turned to the black headed, Paul assumed, Russian man that sat across from him.   
  
"I am Colossus."  
  
"Nice to meet you." Paul answered hoping to get some more information out of the guy.  
  
"His name is Peter Rasputin. Once you get to know him a little better he might say more than a few words to you." Jean smiled at Peter and Peter only answered with a slight glare.  
  
"And we are safely landed." Hank said cheerfully.  
  
"Storm, the Professor wants you to bring Paul and Bobby to his office. Hank, you and I are going to the med lab. Peter could you grab the girl, please?" Jean said quickly. Paul was interested in how she could know all that. She hadn't talked to another as far as Paul could tell.  
  
"If you guys would follow me." Ororo said as she started down the ramp of the jet. Paul started to follow her, but then noticed Bobby wasn't moving from his spot. He was still hugging his knees to his chest.  
  
"Hey, you all right?" Paul knelt in front of Bobby.  
  
"Um, yeah. Ok, maybe not. I'm freaking out a little." Bobby answered.  
  
"Hey, join the club." Paul told him with a slight chuckle. He sat his hand on Bobby's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "You know, the faster we go and talk to this guy the faster we'll know what the hell is goin' on."  
  
"Ok." Bobby answered straighten out his legs. Paul helped him unstrap from the seat and they followed Ororo down the ramp of the plane.  
  
"So, how long has this place been around?" Paul asked as Ororo lead them down a long metal walled corridor. Round, metal doors covered the walls in some places indicating new rooms.  
  
"Well, from what I understand the actual mansion has been here for awhile. It has been in the Professor's family for generations. Professor Xavier didn't create the X-Men until about two months ago. Scott and Jean were the first students here. The rest of us joined in the last month or so." Ororo hit a small button on the wall and an elevator opened.  
  
"Scott? I'm guessing Cyclops." Paul asked as the three of them stepped into the elevator.  
  
"Yeah, Scott Summers. He was the second student to attend the school. Jean started just slightly before him." Ororo answered.  
  
"This place is huge, isn't it?" Bobby asked her.  
  
"Yeah, its pretty big. Someday soon the Professor hopes this place will be filled with student." They had exited the elevator and were walking down a hallway. The walls were made of dark wood and the floors looked like marble. "This place is somewhere we can be safe and learn to use our powers without judgment or prejudice." Ororo knocked on a door and then opened it.  
  
"Good evening gentlemen. Ms. Munroe. Would you please be seated?" Xavier said after acknowledging each of them. I hope the trip here was at least not terrible for the two of you."  
  
"It wasn't terrible, but I think we both would like to know what exactly in goin' on." Paul told honesty.  
  
"Yes, of course. I'm guessing that you have been told that this is a place for mutants to come learn to use their powers in a safe and loving environment. However, it is also the public face for a team of trained mutants called the X-Men. I think it I would be safe in assuming that you two have at least heard of us, yes?" Professor Xavier asked as he wheeled his chair from behind his desk and in front of the three mutants.  
  
"Yeah, I have. You all have been in the news quite a bit lately." Bobby answered. Paul stood silent until the other three occupants of the room looked at him expectantly.  
  
"Um no, sorry. I don't catch the news much. Between workin', goin' to school, tryin' to eat at some point, and on occasion sleepin' I don't have much time for anything else." Paul answered quickly.   
  
"You are attending college? May asked in what you are majoring?" Xavier looked quite interested and Paul obliged him.  
  
"I'm goin' to Baruch College and I'm majoring abnormal psychology. Actually, I'm hoping to get into forensic psychology. So, I'm pretty busy." Paul told him. "Oh yeah, and I spend the teensy amount of free time I get lookin' for my brother. Hell, tonight was one the night I took off from my life to just chill and I almost get blown up." There was a slightly mocking tone in Paul's voice.  
  
"Well, I'm sure you haven't missed the reaction that mutants are causing in society." Xavier began again.  
  
"Kinda hard to miss that." Paul agreed.  
  
"Well, as of late, thing have become increasingly worse. I will admit that some of the problems are caused by mutants who want to fight humans, but normal humans are a large part of the problem. They let their fear and hatred control them and that leads to harm mutants."  
  
"What does that have to do with me?" Paul asked hurriedly. "Its just that it is kinda late already and I got class at in the mornin'."  
  
"I was hoping to asked you two to join the school. And in time, the X-Men. Your skills could prove invaluable in the future." Xavier said with a smile.  
  
"I'm not sure havin' powers I can barely use would help. And when I do use them my head kills me." Paul told the Professor not understanding how he could contribute to their team.  
  
"And I don't even really know what my powers are, much less how to use them." Bobby joined in.  
  
"That's the reason you're here, to learn to use and control your powers effectively." Xavier answered their concerns.  
  
"So we do have a choice in this, right?" Paul asked skeptically.  
  
"Of course, I wouldn't think of forcing something on you that you do not want. But I assure you that you will be able to gain things here that you can't get anywhere else." Professor X answered.  
  
"Hell, before I came here I could be trying to conjure a light rain shower and get a full-fledged hurricane. It all comes with practice." Storm tried to help the situation.  
  
"You control the weather?" Paul asked her and more than a little surprised that a mutant could have that much power.  
  
"Yeah, just don't piss me off. For some reason my powers are directly connected to my emotions and I have a harder time controlling it when I'm angry." She smiled at them both.  
  
"Noted." Paul answered swiftly.  
  
"What are your abilities Professor?" Bobby asked turning to the older man.  
  
"I'm a telepath. I can read thoughts, search memories, erase memories. Any number of things." He rolled between Paul and Ororo, then out the office door. The other quickly fell into step behind him. "What do you gentlemen think?"  
  
"This all sounds all right to me, but I'm in school. I have plans for my life that pretty much revolve around my education. I can't give that up." Paul answered Xavier firmly. 'It will be something new, at least.' He thought.  
  
"Any educationally skills you would need could be provided here. I, myself, have a Ph D. in psychology and I have many connections in the local universities." The assurance in Xavier's voice soothed Paul somewhat.  
  
"I guess it wouldn't hurt to try it out for a while." Paul said.  
  
"Count me in." Bobby answered.  
  
"Good, tomorrow there will be many things to do and tests to run. One of the things we will do is determine your exact mutant abilities. However, there will be time for those kinds of things later. You all have had a trying day and should get some rest. Ororo, would you please show these gentlemen to the resident hall and find them rooms. Just pick which every that is available, it doesn't matter which. I'm going to check on Scott and the girl. Goodnight." Xavier bowed his head slightly and headed off to the elevator.  
  
"Ok guys, this way." Ororo told them and they followed up a set of stairs then took a right down a hall. "This is male resident wing. The only rooms that are occupied are the first two of the left and then four doors down on the right. Otherwise, just pick whichever one you want." She smiled at the two.  
  
"Yeah, I'm kinda wet, soaked actually. Is there anyway I can get some close for someone seeing as how I don't have any of my own?" Paul question wryly.  
  
"Um, yeah. Bobby why don't you grab a room, the bathrooms this door right here." She said pointing to her left then looked to Paul. "And I'll take you downstairs and we'll find you some sweats."  
  
"Ok." Paul nodded his head.  
  
Bobby walked off down the hall way and Ororo lead Paul back down the stairs then to the elevator.   
  
"So, this place got a workout room?" Paul asked trying to find something to talk about. Besides, he really did tell like working out sometime soon.  
  
"Oh yes. Very large gym. I'll show you, we have to walk by to get to the locker rooms." Ororo replied. "You been in New York City long?"  
  
"Little over a year. I left home and moved there. Started workin' and goin' to school and not much else. You ever live there?" Paul returned.  
  
"Yeah, for a little while. Just before I came here I was living in Harlem with some friends. I was there less than a year." The weather witch answered.  
  
"I like it so far. I was about to go insane in the little town I was livin' in. Couldn't take anymore so I got out." Paul told her as they again walked down the long metal corridor, but turned down a hall he hadn't been down yet.  
  
"And this is guys locker room. Hey! Anybody in here?" Ororo yelled when she stuck her through the door. When she didn't get any answer she motioned for Paul to follow her. "I'm assuming the guys locker room is just like the girls. And look, I was right." She pulled a cabinet open and pulled out a pair of sweats. "Here ya go."  
  
"Thanks." Paul said accepting the shirt and pants. "Not tryin' to be hard to get ago with, but ya got any shorts and maybe a t-shirt? I was kinda hoping to hit the gym tonight. Working out calms me down."  
  
She stepped to another cabinet and reached in to pulled out the requested items. "Is there anything else I could get you? Maybe an iced tea or I could call Peter to carry you every where?" Ororo's tone was dripping with sarcasm and she had a smirk to match.  
  
"No, I think I'll be fine. Oh, you could tell me where the kitchen is, just in case." He let her have his brightest smile.  
  
"It's on the first floor behind the stairs then to the right." She said as she walked away. Paul felt a slight breeze roll through the room and the door to the locker room opened easily as Ororo strolled through. "Don't forget to take a shower at some point tonight. You already stink."  
  
"Thanks for your help." Told her as the door swung shut again.  
  
Paul shrugged out of his wet coat and started to unlace his boots when the shrill of his cell phone made him jump. After the second it took him to realize the sound was he reached into his bag for the phone.  
  
"Ello?" Paul answered quickly.  
  
"Paul, are you all right?" A man's voice answered.  
  
"Yes, Sam. I'm fine."  
  
"You were in the Square tonight when all that stuff went down, weren't you?" The concern in his best-friend's voice was clear.  
  
"Yes, but I'm fine. Nothing happened that I didn't get out of."  
  
"You didn't get corner by any of those sentinel things, did you?" Sam continued his barrage of questions. Sam was the only one of Paul's loved ones that knew Paul was mutant and he got a little worried sometimes.  
  
"Well, actually yeah, I did. But this really hot guy saved my ass right in the nick of time. You ever heard of the X-Men?" Paul asked.  
  
"Yeah, of course. The last month or so, they've been all over the news. Why, did you meet them or something?"  
  
"Something like that. I'm actually with them right now. Well, none of them are actually in the room, but I am in their base or headquarters or whatever." Paul held the phone with one hand as he slid one shoe off. "I think I joined the X-Men. I'm not actually sure what all is entailed in bein' an X-Man, but it looks like I'll find out."  
  
"So are you staying with them permanently or what? I am gonna see you again, right?"  
  
"Yes, Sam. You're gonna see me again." Paul said with a slight chuckle in his voice. Before Sam could say anything else Paul heard another beep come from his phone. "Sam, hold on, someone else is calling me." He hit the button and switched to the next call as he pulled his socks off.  
  
"Ello?" He answered rather chipperly.  
  
"Hey." Came a low voice and Paul's face dropped the moment he heard it.  
  
"I don't want to talk to you and I thought I made that clear when I told you I never want to talk to you." Paul voice fired through the phone.  
  
"But you won't even let explain wha…."  
  
"There's nothing to explain Ben." Paul's voice seemed more tired than angry when he continued. "When you sleep with one of my co-workers there's not much to explain. I'm sick of goin' through all this, so please just leave me alone."  
  
Paul ended the conversation and his body sunk to the bench under him. He ran a hand through his hand and sighed heavily. Now he definitely knew he needed a good long run. Hopefully there'd be some treadmills in the gym he could use.   
  
He started to stand, but nearly jumped three feet into the air when a voice scared the shit out of him.  
  
"You okay?" Paul looked up and saw Cyclops standing by one of the rows of lockers.  
  
"Um, yeah I guess." Said after the second it took for his heart rate to slow. "I'll be better once I work some of this tension out. It's just been a long day." Paul slipped his pants off then folded them to set them on the bench. 'Wonder how much of that he heard?' Paul thought. Then he pulled off his shirt and grabbed the t-shirt Ororo had given him. "Your shoulder gonna be ok?"  
  
"Yeah, the bullet barely got through my uniform and hardly broke the skin. My real name's Scott if you haven't been told that already." He told Paul while opening one of the lockers up.  
  
"Yeah, Ororo told me and I'm glad you're all right. I know that you getting' hurt wasn't my fault, but I kinda feel responsible anyway." Paul had changed into the shorts and t-shirt when he realized he didn't have a pair of shoes to workout in. "Shit."  
  
"Something wrong?" Scott asked.  
  
"Sorta, I don't have my tennis shoes." Paul started picking up the clothing that he had discarded before.  
  
"What size do you wear?"   
  
"Ten or ten and a half."   
  
"Here you go. I wear ten and a half." Scott held out a pair of shoes for Paul and he took them gratefully.  
  
"Thanks, I was 'bout to be a little pissed off if I couldn't work out." Paul sat back down on the bench and slipped the shoes on. He was about to stand when he looked up and saw Scott starting to undress. With his back to Paul he was already stuffing his shirt in his locker and then hunched over a little to untie his boots with his good arm.  
  
Paul was mesmerized the muscles in Scott's back as moved around. Paul's eyes worked over every inch of skin he could see and his gaze slowly drifted lower to Scott's still uniform clad ass. Paul knew he staring, but he couldn't force himself to stop. And it was only Scott's voice that finally knocked him from his reverie.  
  
"You handled yourself very well against those FOH guys. Not a lot of people know how to handle themselves in a fight against people with military training." Scott said as he pulled a t-shirt of his own on.  
  
"Well, I've been takin' karate and tia kwon doe since I was about eight. I got hassled by a bull when I was in third grade and my dad, the Air Force Colonel that he is, decided he didn't want his boy to get beat up by some jerk at school. So he put me and my brother in martial arts classes." Paul turned his back to Scott hoping to avoid embarrassing himself. He could already feel the pressure building in his groan. He gathered all of his things and headed for the door. "Well, I guess I'll be seein' you around. Looks like I'll be stayin' a while."  
  
"Yeah, I'll see you in morning." Scott paused a moment and smiled at him. Paul was sure he'd never seen a smile quite as nice Scott's and this time it only took half a second for his mind to pull him back to reality.  
  
"G'nite, sleep well." Paul didn't give Scott the time to answer before backed through the swinging door of the locker room and headed for the gym. As he approached the door of the workout room it slid open easily. Paul figured it would be a large gym, but what he saw before him was something that couldn't be described as large. More like huge.  
  
The room itself was at least the size of the actually gymnasium at his old high school. It was filled with every type of workout had ever seen and some he hadn't. He spotted the treadmills a few seconds after he walked in. He didn't plan on doing anything but running so he didn't worry about setting his things down right behind the treadmill. He stepped onto the last machine of a row of very many, at least twenty.  
  
"Man, this is nice." He said to himself as he worked the controls of the machine. He set it for forty minutes and set the speed on medium. The machine was almost silent as Paul began to run. He paid no attention to the time as he let his mind drift and let himself fall into the familiar zone as he began to really get into the run.   
  
Paul could feel his muscles working and his heart rate increasing as he pushed body to go farther. A feeling of almost blankness came over Paul and he just went with it. He didn't have anything to worry about right now. Not mutants or robots. Not school and not Ben. Just his feet hitting the machine.  
  
The beep of the machine that signaled the beginning of the cool down run kicked started Paul's mind. He stopped the treadmill without worrying about the cool down and stretched for a second. Then he picked up his things and headed out of the gym. It took him a few moments to find the elevator and get to the main floor. He walked down the hall the Ororo had shown them earlier. Five of the doors were closed on the hall and Paul assumed that the ones open were the available rooms.   
  
On each side of the hall there was fourteen bedrooms with the bathroom right in the middle of one wall. Paul came to the first room on the right and went in. The room was large for a bedroom. A queen-size bed sat in the middle of the room and a desk sat beneath a window to one side of the bed. There was a dresser in one corner and closest beside that. A chair sat in the last corner of the room.   
  
Paul hung his coat of the back of the door and hung his clothes across other available places. He hoped that they would dry out by the next day; he didn't really have anything else to wear. After everything was out and drying he ditched the t-shirt he was wearing. He walked out into the hall then into the bathroom. He saw towels on a shelf and he grabbed one. There were also soap dispensers in the shower stalls.   
  
After a quick shower Paul felt a lot better and could feel sleep pulling at his eyes. He dried himself and then climbed into the very comfortable bed. He started to run the day's events back through his mind, but it took only second for sleep to claim him. 


	2. Chapter 2

"This is very interesting." Hank said as he continued to read the printout from the computer.  
  
"What is very interesting?" Paul asked cautiously from where he sat on one of the many medical beds. He'd been a wary when Professor had told him about some of the test they were going to perform, none of which sounded dangerous. Paul just preferred to the stay away from the hospital environment as much as possible. He'd gotten enough of that as a kid.  
  
"Form that training session you completed this morning we know you do have some telekinetic ability, but I'm led to believe that telekinesis is not the extent of your power." Hank answered. Jean and Hank were performing a selection of genetic tests on Paul to determine exactly what his x-gene might allow. "Jean, could you ask the Professor to come down, I'd like him to take a look at this." Jean nodded and seemed to get a slightly distance look in her eyes.  
  
"He'll be here in a few moments. What exactly are the readings saying Hank?" Jean questioned as she peered over his shoulder. Jean was somewhat taller than Hank as he stood slightly slumped over, but they weren't even a comparison in terms of weight. Paul was fairly sure he never wanted to get on Hank's bad side. He seemed very much like a nice guy, but Paul was certain he didn't what to ever see him mad.  
  
"I'm not exactly sure, that's part of the reason I want the Professor to look at this. I'm certain that he's a psionic, but other than that I couldn't say." Hank seemed a little excited at the prospect of the challenge of finding the answer.  
  
"Psionic?" The confusion is Paul's voice was clear.  
  
"Psionics are kind of what we call mutants with powers that deal with mental abilities such as telepathy or telekinesis. I'm a psionic and so is the Professor, so welcome to the club." Jean smiled and then looked down to the printout again. "That reading right there is indicative of telekinetic ability, but I haven't seen any of the others before."  
  
"I know. They don't resemble telepathy, precognition, or any other mental power. I don't know what to make of it." Paul heard the excitement in McCoy's voice. Paul was becoming a scientist of sorts. He knew what it was like to find something new and undiscovered. But, frankly, their confusion to his abilities and Paul's own apprehension about the whole situation was making him feel somewhat of a freak among freaks. Just as Paul was about to asking them something the doors of the med-bay opened and Xavier rolled in.  
  
"You wanted to see me, Hank?" He asked politely.  
  
"Yes, sir. Take a look at these readings. They're a mapping of Paul's x-gene. Neither Jean nor I know what to make of them." Hank said quickly and handed the papers over.  
  
"Hmm." Xavier seemed to be contemplating his answer. "Obviously a psionic, definite telekinetic abilities." He paused from a moment and the continued. "It looks like some form of energy channeling. I've seen one or two readings similar to this before, but nothing on this scale. May I see the computer model of the test please?"  
  
"Yes, of course." Hank quickly pulled the desired program up.  
  
"Ah, it would seem to me, Paul, that you have to the ability to channel mental energy. From what I can tell, the energy would then manifest itself in different forms. You have moved objects with your mind before, no?" Xavier turned from the computer monitor and faced Paul.  
  
"Yes, sir. Only a few times. Last night was the first time I've used my powers to such a great extent. I always figured I could pick myself up, but I'd never tried it." He told Xavier. "This morning was as far as I've taken it. Picking up eight hundred pounds of metal is not how I usually start my day."  
  
"Well, you'll soon find that there is nothing usual about this place. Anyway, I believe that is how your mental energy is currently manifesting, through telekinesis. We can't be sure that the time which psionic abilities you posses, but I'm sure with time they will make themselves known. How was his physical?" Xavier asked looking to Jean.  
  
"Except for the headaches he complained of, which I contribute to his powers, he's a perfectly healthy twenty-one year old." She answered him.  
  
"Good, good. Jean, Mr. Harris needs to get a few things from his apartment in New York. I'd like you and Scott to take the van and go with Paul to get his things. I imagine he'll need some help."  
  
At the sound of Scott's name Paul's ears perked up. Paul had found himself having dreams about the X-Man the night before and the subject matter of those dreams weren't exactly approved for use in conversation. He was slightly embarrassed by them, seeing how he'd barely known the guy for twelve hours.  
  
Paul quickly squashed the thoughts of a naked Scott and forced himself to concentrate on the others.  
  
"Of course, Professor." She nodded to Xavier and then smiled at Paul.  
  
"Mr. McCoy, when you've finished with Bobby and Rebecca please let me know." Xavier said he turned to leave.  
  
"Rebecca?" Paul questioned.  
  
"Yes Rebecca Southers, the girl that we bought in last night that was unconscious. She only woke up a few hours ago and we managed to the identify her."  
  
"Hank, if you would please finish up with Bobby's and Rebecca's test and please call me when you get the results. Since Jean isn't going be here I'd like to be with them when they find out. Rebecca didn't even know that she was a mutant until this morning and I'm not entirely sure how she will take it." Xavier said he moved towards the door. "I'll be in my office if you need me. Oh, and Jean, please try to be back by six o'clock. I know it's only a little after noon, but there are a few people who are coming over tonight. And I'd like you all to be here before they will arrive." With a nod from Jean he left the room.  
  
"When do you want to leave?" Jean asked Paul helpfully. He hadn't known any of these people long and most of the time that he'd spent around them he'd been a little on edge. Granted he'd been here less than a day, but he still couldn't shake the nervous feelings. However, when he was around Jean he felt calmer.   
  
He hadn't realized how much she resembled Sara. It was the red-hair, had to be the red-hair. He hadn't thought of Sara in while. The memories were too painful. Sara's death was one of the big reasons that he chose to leave his hometown.   
  
"Are you all right?" Jean's face turned from a smile to a look of concern.  
  
"Yeah, fine. You just remind me of someone, that's all." Paul smiled gently.  
  
"Someone good I hope." Jean headed for the door and motioned for Paul to follow.   
  
"Oh yeah, one of the best people I've ever known." Paul told her as the metal doors to the med-bay opened. "See ya later, Henry."  
  
"Bye." He said absently as he continued to read over some printouts.  
  
"May I ask who?" Jean inquired gently with a smile.  
  
"Yeah, her name was Sara. She was the one of the best friends I ever had. We did almost everything together. She had short red-hair like yours, that's probably where I get resemblance." Paul pushed the bad memories to the back of his mind and focused on the good.  
  
"Do you get to talk to her much anymore?" She seemed almost hesitate to ask.  
  
"Um, no. She died in a car accident when we were seventeen." Paul tried to sound firm, but his was a little shaky.  
  
"Well, I'm sure she was a wonderful person." Jean smiled fondly and put her hand on Paul's shoulder as they walked down the corridor to the elevator. Paul was glad she didn't offer up an 'I'm sorry' or a 'Oh, that's so horrible.' It always felt so empty when people said that to a grieving person. They almost always had good intentions, but he never quite could figure out what they were apologizing for. Besides, it wasn't their fault that the person had died.  
  
"She was indeed." He answered with a firm nod.  
  
"Were you two..?" Jean asked trying not to be forceful, but wanting to be there if Paul wanted to talk about it.  
  
"Nope, just friends, but if I were into women she would have be a definite choice." Paul looked to Jean to see if his little declaration caught her off guard, but she didn't seem surprised.   
  
"So, when do you want to leave?" Jean changed the subject as she hit the button on the elevator.  
  
"I'm ready anytime; I just have to grab my coat."   
  
"Ah, I'll talk to Scott, but it will probably be pretty soon, especially since we have to get back before six." They stepped onto the main floor and headed for the stairs.  
  
"You know, y'all don't need to go. I can handle it on my own. It's not a big deal." Paul reassured her.  
  
"Don't be silly, of course we'll go. Not like I want to go that training session we were supposed to have today." Jean said with a smirk.  
  
"Ok, I just don't want to impose." Paul insisted.  
  
"Oh, I don't mind, and I know Scott won't either. And if he does, we can just make him go." She promised. "I'll let you know in few a minutes when we're leaving. I've gotta go change clothes." She smiled and headed towards the girls resident wing of the mansion.   
  
Paul walked to the his room intent on changing into something more warm for their trip then realized he had absolutely nothing to change into. The temperature outside was a lot cooler than the day before and he wasn't sure he'd be comfortable in the clothes he did have. He picked up the sweatshirt Ororo had given him the night before and about to put in on when he realized it said 'X-Men' on the front in rather large letters. He put the sweatshirt down, not sure if they wanted to broadcast who they were while in New York City.  
  
Recognizing that his choices were limited he decided to go ask Jean if she had a sweatshirt or something he could wear. He left his room and headed to the female resident wing. Before he turned the corner of the hall he heard pretty loud music coming from the hall. The music group singing was N'sync. He wasn't sure if he was more embarrassed for Jean, because she was listening to the music, or for himself, who knew every word to the song that was playing. Not that was anything wrong with the band; just he hadn't expected to hear Jean listening to that particular music genre. He had her pegged as the artsy type. Jewel maybe.  
  
He didn't have a problem figuring out which room Jean was in since the music was so loud and knocked on the door loudly. He knocked second time when didn't get an answer and started to knock again, but the door swung open. Jean was standing at her dresser putting earrings on. The music died almost the instant that Jean saw Paul.   
  
It took Paul a second to kick start mind to what was going on. And Jean helped him along. "I'm a telekinetic, it comes in handy sometimes." She paused a second and finished putting on her earring and spoke again. "Scott said he'd be ready to go in about five minutes."  
  
"You talked to him already?" Paul knew that Jean hadn't had time to put on the clothes she was wearing now and find Scott.  
  
"I'm also telepathic like the Professor. I talked to Scott psychically. Better get use to it, the Professor does it all the time." Jean said. "Was there something you needed?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm a bit short on clothes and was wondering if you had a sweat-shirt or something I could wear?" He explained.   
  
"Yeah, sure." She stepped to her closet and started looking through it. "Hmm. Well, I have this sweat-shirt that would fit you, but that about it." She said holding up a light blue sweat shirt with elegant roses plastered to the front. "Unless you want to wear a halter-top my choices are limited to clothing for women, sorry. Hey, you're not much smaller than Scott. I bet he's got some stuff you can wear." Before Paul could protest to the idea he was being pulled down the hall by Jean. I quickly knocked on the door and she ushered him into the room.  
  
"Hey Scott, Paul's a little short in the clothing department and he was wondering if he could borrow a sweater or something." Jean said hurriedly.  
  
"Has Paul some how lost the ability to speak for himself?" Scott asked sarcastically.  
  
"No, I'm just recovering from being dragged down the hall and into your room." Paul made it look like his wrist was hurt by rubbing it a little. "She's stronger than she looks."  
  
"Yeah, and she's a little spastic sometimes. You'll get used to it." Scott smirked at Paul and Jean 'hmmph-ed' indignantly.   
  
"As opposed to the stiff-necked, preppy style that Scott brings to the team. That you never get used to." Jean retorted quickly. "So, you gonna give the poor clothe-less guy a shirt or not?" Jean asked with a little attitude.   
  
"Yeah, sure." Scott got up from his chair and stuck his head into the closet. He pulled a light gray sweatshirt. He walked over to Paul and handed it to him. Shirt was incredibly soft to Paul's touch and he could tell that it was warm. 'Nebraska' was printed on the front of the shirt in big, burgundy letters.  
  
"Thanks." Paul said appreciatively.  
  
"No problem." Scott smiled at Paul and then walked back to his dresser. Something made Paul look over to Jean who had a smirk on her face.   
  
'Hot isn't he?' Paul heard her say, but he was looking straight at her face and her mouth hadn't moved. Paul's eyes widened at the realization. 'Don't worry, he can't hear me. I'm speaking to you telepathically, told you it comes in handy sometimes.'   
  
'You're a telepath too? Like the Professor?' Wasn't sure it worked, but figured he'd just think real loudly.  
  
'Yes, but I don't have half the power he does. Didn't I already tell you that? Back to my original question. Hot ain't he?' The mischievous smile on her face only grew wider as her question entered Paul's mind.  
  
'Have you been poking around in my head?' He asked with a half-smile but, honestly, the idea of someone messing around in his mind bothered him.  
  
'No, of course not!' She sounded almost offended. 'I wouldn't ever going poking around in someone's mind unless I was given permission or it was absolutely necessary.'  
  
'Then how'd you know I think Scott is like the hottest guy I've ever seen?' Paul kept a playful tone hoping not to upset her at all.  
  
'You were projecting back in the lab. Something about a naked Scott. Not quite sure actually, I shut my senses down as soon as I heard the first thoughts. Sometimes, when you're actively thinking about something, I don't have to be trying to hear your thoughts to know what you're thinking. You're just thinking so loudly I hear it anyway. And I'm not sure if Scott is the hottest guy I've ever seen.' Jean babbled quickly.   
  
"What are you two talking about?" Scott's voice popped Paul out of his little conversation with Jean.  
  
"What?" Paul asked blankly.  
  
"I know you were doing that whole telepathic talking thing. Jean loves to do that, so I know that you were probably talking about me. Because if you weren't talking about me you'd be saying it out loud." Scott answered as if it had happened before.  
  
Paul couldn't think of anything to say and he could feel his face beginning to blush. He wasn't sure how Scott would react if he knew what Paul thought about him and he wasn't about to find out. Luckily for Paul Jean intervened.  
  
"We were just discussing whether or not Nebraska was going to make the Super Bowl this year." Jean tried to sound convincing.  
  
Scott didn't look like he bought it. "There isn't a Super Bowl in college football and I can totally tell you're lying. But oh well, I'm not gonna get anything out of you. So, you two ready to leave?"  
  
"Um, yeah. I just have to change shirts." Paul said and made a quick exit. He threw the sweat shirt on his bed when he walked into the room. Grabbing his boots from the air vent, where'd put them to help them dry faster, and sat on the bed to pull them on.   
  
He started to put Scott's shirt on and as it passed his nose he caught a whiff of a very enticing smell. He paused with the shirt half-way on. There was a faint scent of cologne, but there was also another smell. That smell that clothes like sweater and sweatshirts get after you wear them once or twice then put them back of the shelf. The smell they get from sitting among all your other clothes and they begin to smell the same. It was almost an old smell, but not in a bad way. Paul loved that smell, which was probably the reason he felt a little embarrassed when he realized he was smelling someone else's shirt.  
  
He pulled the shirt on the rest of the way and grabbed his coat as headed out of the room. Jean and Scott were waiting for him at the top of the stairs. He smiled tentatively at them as he asked. "Y'all ready?" His southern accent very plain.  
  
"Yup, are we taking your explorer or the van, Scott?" Jean was pulling a black leather coat on as the three walked down the staircase.   
  
"That depends. How much stuff do you have to get Paul?" Scott asked without turning around to face Paul.  
  
"Probably more than an explorer full."  
  
"The van it is." Scott nodded and they headed to the garage.   
  
"Shotgun!" Jean exclaimed. 


End file.
